To Enter Excess Medical Malpractice Market
W. R. Berkley Corporation To Enter Excess Medical Malpractice Market
W. R. Berkley Corporation
165 Mason Street, P.O. Box 2518
Greenwich, Connecticut 06836-2518
(203) 629-3000
NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Eugene G. Ballard, Senior Vice President-Chief Financial
Officer and Treasurer, (203) 629-3000
Greenwich, Connecticut --- December 18, 2001
W. R. BERKLEY CORPORATION TO
ENTER EXCESS
MEDICAL MALPRACTICE MARKET
Greenwich, CT, December 18, 2001 -- W. R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE: BER) today announced its entrance into the excess medical malpractice market with the formation of Berkley Medical Excess Underwriters, LLC. Berkley Medical Excess Underwriters will be based in St. Louis, Missouri and will underwrite on behalf of various W. R. Berkley Corporation insurance subsidiaries.
Berkley Medical Excess Underwriters will offer excess coverage
for healthcare providers that are either self-insured or maintain
their own captive facilities and reinsurance coverage for primary
insurance companies that provide medical malpractice coverage to
physicians and other commercial healthcare providers.
J. Michael Foley, immediate past chairman and chief executive
officer of Midwest Employers Casualty Company, a subsidiary of W.
R. Berkley Corporation, has been named as the president and chief
executive officer of Berkley Medical Excess Underwriters. Mr. Foley
has over 16 years of experience running a statistically-driven and
profit-oriented underwriting operation and brings a unique
combination of experience and skills to the position.
Commenting on the new venture, William R. Berkley, chairman and
chief executive officer of W. R. Berkley Corporation said, "We are
excited about the opportunity developing in the excess medical
malpractice marketplace due to severe contractions by other
carriers. We are delighted to have Mike Foley leading our efforts
in entering the market at the right time and in the proper manner.
We believe that building a position in the market with actuarially
based pricing models will provide much needed stability in a
volatile market. We are positioned to apply our expertise to a
niche market segment in need of rational capacity." Founded in
1967, W. R. Berkley Corporation is an insurance holding company
which operates in six segments of the property casualty insurance
business: specialty insurance, alternative markets, reinsurance,
regional property casualty insurance, international and inactive
business.
This is a "Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any forward-looking statements
contained herein, including statements related to our outlook for
the industry and for our performance for the year 2001 and beyond,
are based upon the Company?s historical performance and on current
plans, estimates and expectations. The inclusion of this
forward-looking information should not be regarded as a
representation by us or any other person that the future plans,
estimates or expectations contemplated by us will be achieved. They
are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including but not
limited to, the cyclical nature of the property casualty industry,
the long-tail and potentially volatile nature of the reinsurance
business, product demand and pricing, claims development and the
process of estimating reserves, timing and development of losses
related to the Enron bankruptcy, the uncertain nature of damage
theories and loss amounts and the development of additional facts
related to the attacks of September 11, 2001, the increased level
of our retention, natural and man-made catastrophic losses,
including as a result of terrorist activities, the impact of
competition, the availability of reinsurance, the ability of our
reinsurers to pay reinsurance recoverables owed to us, investment
results, exchange rate and political risks, legislative and
regulatory developments, changes in the ratings assigned to us by
ratings agencies, the effects of the refocusing of our business,
including our withdrawal from the personal lines business,
uncertainty as to reinsurance coverage for terrorist acts, the
availability of dividends from our insurance company subsidiaries,
our successful integration of acquired companies or investment in
new insurance ventures, our ability to attract and retain qualified
employees, and other risks detailed from time to time in the
Company?s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
These risks could cause actual results of the industry or our
actual results for the year 2001 and beyond to differ materially
from those expressed in any forward-looking statement made by or on
behalf of the Company. Forward-looking statements speak only as of
the date on which they are made, and the Company undertakes no
obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking
statement, whether as a result of new information, future
developments or otherwise.
